Editorial

Citation

Bajer, J. (2016), "Editorial", Strategic HR Review, Vol. 15 No. 5, pp. 197-198. https://doi.org/10.1108/SHR-08-2016-0075

Dear colleague,

Diversity and Inclusion. Are we there yet?

Not really. While most organisations have some sort of intention of opening up to people who look different, the challenge remains when it comes to welcoming those who look differently at things. Many organisations end up with box-ticking exercises around diversity, making sure there is a good “representation” of race, gender, age, etc. But what about having people who can bring different (sometimes opposite) perspectives about what is important?

Organisations where people can think differently are overtaking those where “we are on the same page” is part of the culture. In this issue of Strategic HR Review, our intention is to help you challenge the status quo in your organisation. We have collected very “diverse” and interesting pieces that will surely get you thinking, and then doing differently.

In Five Steps Toward Recognizing and Mitigating Bias in the Interview and Hiring Process, Rosalie Chamberlain explores the impact of unconscious bias and how employers can avoid it so that they can expand the diversity of their staff.

In Five Ways to Lead with Inclusion, Brynne Humphreys examines the skills that successful improvisers possess and how those can be applied by business leaders with the goal of building more inclusive cultures in the workplace.

In How and Why to Hire a Diverse Workforce: What You Need to Know, Kate Brodock and Geoff Massam discuss a range of strategies for HR departments and other decision-makers on how to create more diverse hiring practices.

In Working with Difference – Is it a Business Imperative? Danny Kalman and Steve Frost provide a number of real-world examples where businesses have leveraged their diverse workforces and inclusive cultures to attain impressive business results.

In The Evolving Diversity Agenda, Erin Wilson Burns and Dave Ulrich analyze the latest research to answer some fundamental questions on this topic, such as what defines diversity in the workplace, how and why does it matter and what practices can help build more diverse workforces and inclusive cultures.

In How Technology Can Fuel the Diversity Challenge, Charles Hipps looks at how cutting-edge software and other technology can help businesses overcome some of the biggest diversity challenges facing organizations today.

It is worth mentioning that, as humans, we have been designed to avoid change. Predictability was all about survival, and it worked well for a very long time, getting us to where we are today.

Maybe now is the time to help evolution adapt to a new set of organisational and societal needs. I hope you take this opportunity to create a Culture where people can (and are encouraged to) bring different perspectives into everyday conversations. Only then, true innovation will have a chance to add value to the world of work, and beyond.

Enjoy the reading, Dr Javier Bajer Editor-in-Chief